open to all;

[swordboning]

Who: Archer swordboning and YOU. (Maybe Athena too)
When: December 15th and on
Where: Right here where you need him. At least in the streets.
What: Golden Archers is sadly open. Come get your top tier food of choice.
Rating/Warning: Nah.


[Archer was fully cringing at the emblem Athena made and the fact that it was pasted on his apron. Well, inwardly at least. Athena got to have her way with the things went around here since she was the one who put in the money and most of the work. That meant her lame idea of what was great ended up plastering almost anything that had the surface for it.

But for a food stall, there was a serious lack of menu. Archer, though, intentionally wanted that. Restricting himself would only be admitting that he couldn't make things that people wanted outside of said menu. Obviously, there were some restrictions because supplies of some things were exceedingly rare or impossible to find. Which meant that rich people places had to be visited for that. But here were reasonable prices for fresh cooked food.]

Before you ask, there's no menu. So just tell me what you want.

[Customer service needed a little bit of work, however. And no, Saber, you weren't getting any free food.]

Comments

[souredsweet]

[The answer is predictable this time, at least. A simple:]

Small, please. [Which is followed by a smile. After glancing around to make sure there are no other customers in line just yet, Kaoru scoots off slightly to one side, standing near the counter to be able to watch.]

May I ask how long you've been cooking, sir? As long as you've been practicing with the sword? It seems like a varied skillset.

[swordboning]

I don't know.

[He shakes his head while beating up the custard ingredients.]

And that's a serious answer. The exact details from the entire time I've lived is fairly blurry.

[souredsweet]

[It doesn't seem like Kaoru's in disbelief over that, at least. It wouldn't be the first time someone's said they don't remember something (or many somethings, which seems to be the case more often than not). Even his own sister hopped on the laser-guided amnesia train.]

Oh... You have amnesia? Though - please pardon me for asking if it's a topic that you don't wish to delve into.

[swordboning]

It's not amnesia. I've just lived a long and fragmented life. If a person could even call it a life but it feels like an eternity.

[Some details are there but the rest just never seem to come up unless a specific situation prompts it.]

[souredsweet]

[It's definitely an odd and attention-grabbing explanation, but Kaoru's also reluctant to tread over any topic that may be too personal. Starting out somewhat neutral, then:]

Fragmented...? Ah, but you look so young. [Like this punk isn't used to immortals, quasi-immortals, or people with stupidly extended lifespans... Kaoru falls into the category too, despite still being very young.]

May I ask, then - are you not human? There's such a wide variety of people here, after all...

[swordboning]

The white hair and wizened skin color mean nothing? [Sarcasm, since both were caused by something else.] I used to be a young boy from Japan.

[Not saying WHO exactly. Even though a certain someone has spilled it quite frequently.]

But right now, I'm a heroic spirit. A blacksmith hero, to be more specific.

[Which is why he's all into swords. Doesn't explain the cooking though, which he's heating up this custard and getting ready to plate it and chill it.]

[souredsweet]

[The sarcasm is caught and earns Archer a quiet laugh. Kaoru's met plenty of people with white hair who aren't inhuman, after all.]

You were? My... It sounds like things have changed a lot for you since then.

[But it's not exactly an unsaid request for him to keep talking about it, even though there's room for him to do so if he wants.]

Oh! [Definitely some understanding there.] I see... Is that why you can create the sort of swords that you do? I can't say that I've ever met a heroic spirit before - or any sort of spirit at all, to be honest. From the legends, I would have expected them to be a little less... solid.

[But Kaoru knows better than to take legends at face-value too, considering what they say about demons and how inaccurate that is.]

[swordboning]

If you're expecting something like a ghost, then you're not too far off. Very few heroic spirits don't have that capability. [Saber, for example. Mostly because she hasn't quite....died in her own time.] I can become more of what actually fits the description of a spirit when I want to.

[souredsweet]

So it's something that you can change at will? Is such a thing common where you come from...?

[Maybe he's from a different version of Weird Japan, or maybe Kaoru just hasn't had the questionable fortune of running into something like that back home just yet.]

[swordboning]

It's absolutely uncommon and entirely rare.

[No lie. Also filling up a mold here. Proper shape is important.]

[souredsweet]

Oh! So it's entirely possible that we may be from the same world, but that I just haven't ever met a heroic spirit before?

[The notion seems to draw out some curiosity, and Kaoru's head cants to the side a little, watching.]

[swordboning]

I won't deny the possibility. You can probably count the number of people in the world who know about heroic spirits on two hands.

[souredsweet]

It's strange to consider, isn't it? That such fantastic things might be happening right under one's own nose... It makes me wonder what other things I may be missing out on.

[swordboning]

A lot but it's nothing anyone needs to get involved in. It's just one big problem. Things would be better if normal life persisted.

[souredsweet]

Oh? Is it that much of a hassle?

[Kaoru's unconvinced that normal life isn't the bigger hassle here.]

[swordboning]

Having a shady underworld that only a select few can participate is always going to be a problem on a large scale.

[souredsweet]

I suppose that's true... Even in "normal society", those pockets of existence can cause trouble for everyone else.

[A thoughtful hum follows, and then a mildly sheepish smile.] It's all a little too complicated for me, though.

[swordboning]

It's complicated for people involved so I wouldn't blame anyone for backing out.

[souredsweet]

Ah, well... If matters of this nature are truly that complex, I don't feel quite as bad for being ill-informed.

[swordboning]

Why would a lady like you be concerned in the first place?

[Checking his quick fridge.

And yes, he doesn't even know yet. So much for the skills Archers have in perception.]

[souredsweet]

[Kaoru is top brass on the S.S. Perception Trickery, to be fair. The smile shifts to something a little uncertain.]

Well... I must be able to support my clan. Sometimes I feel as if I'm not suited for it at all though, when I don't understand this or that.

[swordboning]

What clan and what year?

[Vaguely curious.]

[souredsweet]

The Nagumo, of Tosa... [There's a little thoughtful pause, and then:]

The year is 1864, if I'm recalling the calendars correctly? The first year of Genji. [THE ONLY YEAR OF GENJI but Kaoru doesn't know that yet.]

[swordboning]

1864. Right near the end of the American Civil War.

[Shaking his head. He's gonna know something soon.]

Before you die, your country is going to fall into a Civil War and those who support the traditional ways are going to lose. Keep that in mind. I'm probably disturbing a timeline but I personally don't care.

[souredsweet]

[There's a little noise - maybe of vague discontent - at that, but it seems that unlike the year names, Kaoru had been expecting this. Archer is literally the first person to even mention the possibility of disturbing timelines when talking about the future, even if he doesn't care.]

Things have been in turmoil for quite some time, no matter how hard people attempt to sweep it under the rug... Civil war is something that many consider unavoidable - or at least something that can't be avoided indefinitely. [A grim expression. Kaoru's hands fold together, and the gesture looks anxious.]

I've heard that those who support the shogunate are still heralded as heroes in the future, even so, and those from years much farther ahead than my own seem to be faring well enough.